Rory Regan (Prime Earth)

As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation's. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page.

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History

Rory Regan is the owner of the book and antique shop Rags 'n Tatters who moonlights as the costumed vigilante Ragman.

At his shop, Rory Regan appraised a Celtic amulet as being nearly five hundred years old - and worth more than he could pay out. His customer's urgency and insistence in selling the amulet made him suspicious that it had been stolen, but the man insisted that it was just an heirloom. Reluctantly, Rory offered $750 dollars, and the man accepted, hurrying away. Despite getting a deal, Rory worried that he would regret the purchase.[3]

Above his shop, Rory was roused from his sleep by a ghostly voice, warning that he was needed. He hurried down stairs to find a pair of thugs attempting to steal an ancient artifact from his safe in the shop. Angry, he followed them in the uniform of Ragman. Rory followed the thieves to their employer, where the remaining cultists intended to use Clayface and the stolen artifact to resurrect Morgan Le Fey.[4]

At the cost of Clayface's discomfort, the Arthurian witch succeeded in returning to life in the present. While too late to prevent her revival, Ragman joined up with Etrigan and Batwoman to fight her, introducing himself as his alias. When Etrigan, desperate to destroy the witch, broke a gas main in the old house the ritual took place in and breathed his fire on it, Ragman, Batwoman, and the now-amnesiac Clayface had barely any time to get out of range of the resultant explosion, but managed it. According to Etrigan, who also survived, it was likely that Morgan also managed to live through the explosion.

Knowing that Clayface belonged in Arkham Asylum, but that Morgan could easily break him free on a moment's notice from there, Ragman offered to assuage Batwoman's worries thereof by taking Clayface into his own custody, hoping to help him find his memories. The group parted ways, and Etrigan promised that when next the time came to fight, he would be there.

Rory Regan dumped Clayface into his bathtub, for once thankful for being single and thus not needing to explain himself to anyone. Hungry, he checked his fridge, and could't find anything appetizing, but was startled suddenly when Clayface appeared behind him and warned that Morgan would kill again.[5]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Suit of Souls: The Great Collector Artifact, a mystical Jewish artifact created to protect the Jewish communities ever since the time of Abraham.

Steal Soul: The suit can steal a person's soul as long as it is still touching his body, but can only do so to evil souls.[6]

Boost Influence: This energy can also be directed into making the Ragman's influence more formidable -- when concentrating on such actions, the mere presence of the Ragman can make groups of armed gunmen stop attacking or even flee the scene.

Supernatural Enhancement: After a soul is incorporated into the Ragman suit, it can be used in several ways. Its energy can be directed into boosting the wearer's strength, speed, coordination, and fighting prowess. When the wearer uses it in this manner, he can become such a skilled combatant that he can easily defeat a roomful of armed men without being struck in return a single time in the process.

Absorbed Memory Recall: The wearer can also look into the memories of the absorbed soul and extract any information therein as desired. It is also possible that the wearer might be able to use some of the abilities possessed by the souls in the rag suit; such as, using a captured sorcerer's memories to cast spells.

Sense Evil Souls: The suit is drawn toward evil souls; it can sense them in its vicinity and is compelled to seek them out and attack them. This compulsion is also inflicted upon the wearer if he has the costume on. The evil acts of people who have been detected in this manner can also be sensed by the Ragman. This sensing of sins does not work on those people or beings who are not evil.

Discern Motivation: Though detailed exchanges are only possible at short range, those attuned to the suit in this manner can still get a general sense of its disposition while active, and vice versa. For example, the Rabbi who trained Gerry sensed when the suit became active again (when Rory first put it on) and where it was despite being an unknown distance away. The suit also sensed when the Rabbi passed away and relayed that information to Rory even though the Rabbi was no longer in the same city as Rory and the suit when he died. Rory has not as yet developed this second talent -- it may require additional special training in Jewish mystic rituals such as the Rabbi had.

Precognitive Dreams: Rory had occasional precognitive dreams, though they were too vague to provide useful information.

Telepathic Bond: Like all of those who have trained in the use of the suit, Rory has formed a rudimentary telepathic bond with the Ragman costume. He can communicate with the suit's collective personality -- though he speaks out loud, only he can hear the suit's replies. Rory also uses this trait to summon the suit to him over short distances.